Pure athletic ability

[thebigabd]

I am trying to think of the last time OU had this much pure athletic ability coming in at one time?

We have all seen the videos and photos of Buford, Mcnease, and Lattin. Not sure I remember the last class that had this much athletic ability. I am not 100% sure on Lattin, but Buford and Mcnease are freaks. I know Lattin gets quads pretty regularly, so I can only assume he is a great athlete as well.

And, just in time too. Athletic ability is probably the biggest thing missing from the roster.

 

[DenverSooner]

I don't get your comment about athletic ability being missing. I think OU is loaded with athletic players right now, especially the back court.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I don't get your comment about athletic ability being missing. I think OU is loaded with athletic players right now, especially the back court.

Not elite athletes. Not the kind of athletes that are on teams that went deep in the tournament. We don't really have anyone that can finish in the lane with authority

 

[campbest]

I don't get your comment about athletic ability being missing. I think OU is loaded with athletic players right now, especially the back court.

Here we go...

 

[cvangild]

Yeah, Wisconsin was loaded with athletic ability. :-/

 

[thebigabd]

I don't get your comment about athletic ability being missing. I think OU is loaded with athletic players right now, especially the back court.

Uhhhh, what?

Hield, Cousins, Spangler, Woodard, Bennett, Beak, etc are all pretty average D1 athletes. If Hield was a big time athlete he would already be going pro.

Clark was above average, but I wouldnt even call him an elite level athlete.

These guys coming in next year all look like they would have been the best pure athlete on the team this year.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Uhhhh, what?

Hield, Cousins, Spangler, Woodard, Bennett, Beak, etc are all pretty average D1 athletes. If Hield was a big time athlete he would already be going pro.

Clark was above average, but I wouldnt even call him an elite level athlete.

These guys coming in next year all look like they would have been the best pure athlete on the team this year.

So funny

 

[pnkranger]

Elite level hops -- to me -- means Vince Carter in his prime. Michael Jordan. Blake Griffin. Lebron James. Russell Westbrook.

Very few people in the NCAA have ELITE level athleticism.

 

[originalsooner55]

Uhhhh, what?

Hield, Cousins, Spangler, Woodard, Bennett, Beak, etc are all pretty average D1 athletes. If Hield was a big time athlete he would already be going pro.

Clark was above average, but I wouldnt even call him an elite level athlete.

These guys coming in next year all look like they would have been the best pure athlete on the team this year.

Man, you are so hilarious

 

[TINY]

Although I do think ou currently has fine athletes, there is no doubt that Kruger went out and targeted guys who possess more God-given attributes.

All 3 of these cats are long, fast, and can jump out of the gym.

 

[scrybe]

Here we go...

That was my thought too, campbest. I don't know exactly what kind of talent qualifies for elite status, but I thought we had some pretty good athletes on this year's team (no, not Blake Griffin or Lebron James level guys, but good athletes nonetheless).

If these three freshmen are head and shoulders above Clark, Cousins, Hield, et al, all I can say is: "Hang on; we're in for a wild ride over the next 3-4 years."

 

[Laxtothemax12]

To be fair, the team did vote for Tyler Neal as most athletic...

 

[brumFTW]

Elite athleticism means very little if you don't develop a functional skill set.

Edit: Just to be clear I'm not targeting any of our current commits, just making a general comment.

 

[allday92]

This roster isn't missing elite level athletes, it's missing elite level defense. Kentucky had a lot of big time athletes, but UCONN beat them with sound fundamental defense.

There's no reason our guards can't defend like Boatright and Napier. Niels Giffey was able to hold his own on Randle by making him go right. It just takes paying attention to the scouting report, and having the proper position and fundamentals on defense.

We had better athletes than NDSU, but didn't win. I'm all for bringing in athletes, but if they don't develop a skill set, it's useless.

 

[MercedeSooner]

To be fair, the team did vote for Tyler Neal as most athletic...

/ thread.

Seriously we need a guy who can create their own shot in crunch time.

 

[DenverSooner]

To be fair, the team did vote for Tyler Neal as most athletic...

Why does it bother people that Tyler Neal is a great athlete?

 

[Max Power]

Why does it bother people that Tyler Neal is a great athlete?

They don't like it because he's white

 

[WTSooner]

There's no reason our guards can't defend like Boatright and Napier.

Uh. Napier is MUCH quicker than any guard we have on our roster.

 

[DenverSooner]

Uh. Napier is MUCH quicker than any guard we have on our roster.

I don't know if I agree with this. He may be slightly quicker but I never saw OU's guards get out classed this year.

 

[WTSooner]

I don't know if I agree with this. He may be slightly quicker but I never saw OU's guards get out classed this year.

He is quicker than the OU guards to the point where it gives him advantages (both on offense and defense) that OU's guards don't generally have. Especially against better teams.